{"title":"Cecelia Watson","description":"\u003cp\u003eDive into the insightful world of Cecelia Watson, where history, philosophy, and biography intertwine. Discover fascinating stories that challenge perspectives and illuminate the past, perfect for curious minds.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"semicolon-book-cecelia-watson-9780008291563","title":"Semicolon","description":"Fascinating I loved this book; I really did David Crystal, Spectator                                     A biography of a much misunderstood punctuation mark and a call to arms in favour of clear expression and against stifling grammar rules.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49528480203025,"sku":"GOR010892655","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49662250680593,"sku":"GOR013511511","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49730999517457,"sku":"NGR9780008291563","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49896151318801,"sku":"CIN000829156XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50337703231761,"sku":"CIN000829156XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/000829156X.jpg?v=1750736559"},{"product_id":"semicolon-book-cecelia-watson-9780008291532","title":"Semicolon","description":"‘Fascinating… I loved this book; I really did’ David Crystal, Spectator                                     A biography of a much misunderstood punctuation mark and a call to arms in favour of clear expression and against stifling grammar rules.                        Cecelia Watson used to be obsessive about grammar rules. But then she began teaching. And that was when she realized that strict rules aren’t always the best way of teaching people how to make words say what they want them to; that they are even, sometimes, best ignored.             One punctuation mark encapsulates this thorny issue more clearly than any other. The semicolon. Hated by Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut and Orwell, and loved by Herman Melville, Henry James and Rebecca Solnit, it is the most divisive punctuation mark in the English language, and many are too scared to go near it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care?             In this warm, funny, enlightening and thoroughly original book, Cecelia Watson takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the surprising history of the semicolon and explores the remarkable power it can wield, if only we would stop being afraid of it.             Forget the rules; you’re in charge. It’s time to make language do what you want it to.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49663452053777,"sku":"GOR010023257","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50978923446545,"sku":"GOR010122107","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53105561600273,"sku":"GOR014743591","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0008291535.jpg?v=1751442711"},{"product_id":"semicolon-book-cecelia-watson-9780062853059","title":"Semicolon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Delightful.\" --Mary Norris, The New Yorker\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA page-turning, existential romp through the life and times of the world's most polarizing punctuation mark\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Semicolon, Cecelia Watson charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime victim. Taking us on a breezy journey through a range of examples--from Milton's manuscripts to Martin Luther King Jr.'s \"Letters from Birmingham Jail\" to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep--Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communicating with each other than we'd think. Even the most die-hard grammar fanatics would be better served by tossing the rule books and learning a better way to engage with language.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThrough her rollicking biography of the semicolon, Watson writes a guide to grammar that explains why we don't need guides at all, and refocuses our attention on the deepest, most primary value of language: true communication.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49963501912337,"sku":"CIN0062853058VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50169418154257,"sku":"CIN0062853058G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":51880755953937,"sku":"CIN0062853058LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062853058.jpg?v=1750939543"},{"product_id":"semicolon-book-cecelia-watson-9780062853066","title":"Semicolon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Delightful.\" --Mary Norris, The New Yorker\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA page-turning, existential romp through the life and times of the world's most polarizing punctuation mark\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Semicolon, Cecelia Watson charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime victim. Taking us on a breezy journey through a range of examples--from Milton's manuscripts to Martin Luther King Jr.'s \"Letters from Birmingham Jail\" to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep--Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communicating with each other than we'd think. 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